Charles Barkley Quotes
My initial response was to sue her for defamation of character, but then I realized that I had no character.
Smith, Sam. "Barkley always gets last word." Chicago Tribune, 20 Mar. 1994, p. 12.
This quotation is the root of a great dilemma for all politicians who are attacked on a personal level. Most slanders are soon forgotten. The politician who reacts and publicly counters the slander inevitably does two things. More people become aware of the slanderous charges then there is a public battle over it, and the media tend to report the contest and hence the slanderous charge for a longer period of time than if it were uncontested. However sometimes the undefended charge is perceived as being true especially if it is a major charge. If the politician does not defend, the charge can get accepted and damage the politician’s standing. In the Kerry-Bush Prudential campaign, Kerry had the edge until the so-called Swiftboat Veterans made up a fictitious tale of Kerry, a decorated war hero, being a coward in the Vietnam war. Kerry thought the charge so preposterous that he didn’t bother to defend it. His lack of reaction was taken by much of the public as his admission of the charge. Kerry’s hero image was destroyed by a large enough proportion of the electorate that the electoral votes shifted to Bush, even though Kerry had the most votes by far. For each politician, the decision must be made for each charge and there is no clear way to know in advance which is the better strategy when a false charge is made.
This is generally true in politics.
Charles Wade Barkley is an American former professional basketball player who is an analyst on Inside the NBA. Nicknamed "Sir Charles" and "the Round Mound of Rebound," Barkley established himself as one of the National Basketball Association's greatest power forwards of all time. Barkley was an 11-time NBA All-Star, an 11-time member of the All-NBA Team, and the 1993 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP).
